(PAST IMPERFECT)

Blackened Shrimp with Pomegranate-Orange Salsa

Another yummy shrimp dish, and this salsa is no slacker either. Between the peeling the pomegranates and shrimp, it can be a little labor intensive, but it’s tasty and the salsa makes enough for leftovers.

The original recipe called for serving this on a bed of spinach, but my kids won’t eat anything served that way, so I served it as a side dish for Turkey Jambalaya, where I substituted the turkey with 1/2 lb of shrimp and 1 lb tilapia.

The next day, I mixed the leftover salsa and shrimp with some sliced flank steak, half a cup of brown rice pilaf, and it was a most excellent cold lunch. I made some of the salsa by itself for Thanksgiving this year, although it didn’t go over too well, probably because it had to compete with the cranberry sauce.

Salsa Ingredients:

2 cups pomegranate seeds (about 2 large pomegranates)

1 cup finely chopped orange sections (about 1 large orange)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

2 Tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt

Salsa Steps:

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl.

Shrimp Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

36 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 1/2 pounds)

6 teaspoons olive oil, divided

Shrimp Steps:

Combine paprika and the next 7 ingredients (through allspice) in a large zip-top plastic bag.

Add shrimp to bag; seal and shake well to coat. Remove shrimp from bag.

Heat 3 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add half of shrimp mixture anc cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan.